Hyundai Recalls 880,000 Sonatas Because When You Put The Car In Park It Shouldn’t Continue To Move

One would assume that when shifting a vehicle into park that means all forward and backward motions of the vehicle have ceased. That apparently wasn’t the case for some Hyundai vehicles that are now being recalled in the United States and Puerto Rico for a transmission issue.

Hyundai is recalling 883,000 model year 2011 to 2014 Sonata sedans because of a potentially defective transmission-shift cable that could increase the risk of a crash, Reuters reports.

According to a notice [PDF] from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the affected vehicles contain a transmission-shift cable that could detach from the shift lever pin, causing the gear selection not to match the indicator gear.

“When the driver parks the vehicle, despite selecting the ‘PARK’ position, the transmission may not be in ‘PARK.’ If the vehicle is not in the ‘PARK’ position and the parking brake is not applied, there is a risk the vehicle will roll away as the driver and other occupants exit the vehicle or anytime thereafter.”

Hyundai has identified 1,171 warranty claims and seven incidents related to the issue. The manufacturer will notify owners of the issue and dealers will inspect and repair the connection between the shift cable and the shift lever.

Wednesday’s announcement comes less than a week after NHTSA announced it opened an investigation into Hyundai. The regulatory probe concerns a possible seatbelt and airbag safety malfunction in 394,000 model year 2006-2008 Sonatas.

A sensor inside the driver and passenger seat belt buckle assembly may experience a failure leading to a malfunction of the safety belt pretensioner. The agency received more than 80 complaints from consumers regarding the issue.